Your Face Never Lies: What Your Face Reveals about You and Your Health, an Introduction to Oriental Diagnosis

100 Pages·1983·11.42 MB·English

by  Michio Kushi

•CIRCULATION
—
NERVOUS SYSTEM
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WHAT YOUR FACE REVEALS ABOUT VOU AND YOUR HEALTH
AM inXRODUCTIOM TO ORIEF*IAL DIAGMOSiS
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AM INTRODUCTIOn TO OREMmL DIAGNOSIS
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Edited by
William Tara and David Lasocki
Illustrated by David Elliott
I Wayne. New Jersey 1
The medical and health procedures in this book are based on the training,
personal experiences and researchofthe author.Becauseeach person and situation
is unique, the editor and publisher urge the reader to check with a qualified health
professional before using any procedure where there is any question as to its
appropriateness.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular diet and exercise
program, but believes the information presented in this book should be available
to the public.
Because there is always some risk involved, the author and publisher are not
responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use ofany
of the suggestions, preparations, or proceduresin this book. Please donot use the
book if you are unwilling to assume the risk. Feel free to consult a physician or
other qualified health professional. Itis a sign ofwisdom, not cowardice, to seek a
second orthird opinion.
Originally published in the United Kingdom by Red MoonPress, 1976, a division
ofSunwheel Foods Ltd., London, England.
Cover photograph by KathrynAbbe
Coverdesigned by Rudy Shurand Martin Hochberg
Copyright © 1983 by Michio Kushi
ISBN 0-89529-214-9
All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission ofthe copyright owner.
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
10 9 8
Contents
Foreword
iii
Preface v
Introduction vii
Order and Method of Diagnosis 1
The Embryo 5
The F^ce 11
The Eyes 21
The Mouth 31
The Ears 35
;
Hair 37
The Skin 39
The Hands 47
Touching: The Meridians and the Pulses 53
The Voice 61
Handwriting 63
Habits 66
Advice on Food 67
Giving Advice 73
Suggested Readings 79
Index 83

Preface
Accurate diagnosis is a key factor in the treatment of any illness.
With clear knowledge of the major symptoms, a cure is easily
sought. Modern medical diagnosis often employs techniques
such as exploratory surgeryortheadministration ofdyesfollowed
by X-rays, all of which can actually harm the patient; and it seems
that the more specialized these techniques become, the greater
their potential risk. Moreover, these sophisticated forms of
diagnosis look only at the body, its function, and its physiology,
while attempting to pinpoint the cause of the problem. The
person's overall health, mental state, and lifestyle are completely,
and quite mistakenly, overlooked. Perhaps this inadequacy of
—
modern diagnosis explains the relative failure of medicine and
—
the success of wholistic therapies such as macrobiotics in
reversing degenerative illnesses including cancer.
Oriental diagnosis views the total person, physically and
mentally, as well as the troubled organs or body parts. The
practitioner interprets the person's lifestyle and social and
environmental surroundings to arrive at the cause andcureofthe
problem. Traditionally this wholistic diagnosis was used not only
to study individuals, buttoanalyzesocietyaswell. Itwaspassed on
by word of mouth only, having its origin in the Oriental law of
change as indicated in The Book of Changes (l-Ching) and other
Oriental classics.
Without books or schools from which to gain knowledge, my
own understanding of Oriental diagnosis developed slowly, only
after years of practice. The late George Oshawa, a philosopher
and expert in Oriental medicine, directed me to the study of
biology, biochemistry, astronomy, history, and other scientific
and cultural disciplines so that could obtain an understandingof
— I
human health and illness and ultimatly a humane and effective
form of diagnosis.
Thanks to the efforts of William Tara, who edited the lectures
that gave birth to this book, you can begin learning the basics of
Oriental diagnosis in a matter of days, for diagnostic skills are
useful not only for medical practitioners but for anyone who
wishes to refine his awareness of those around him.
Oriental diagnosis requires neitherexpensiveequipmentnor
elaborate technology. Your eyes, ears, touch, nose, and intuition
are the only tools ennployed. Of course, the sharper your
— —
instruments the healthier you are the more accurate your
perceptions will be. Therefore, recommend that you refineyour
I
own health and sensitivity as have, by adopting a wholesome
I
macrobiotic diet consisting mainly of whole grains, beans and
vegetables.
sincerely hope that this introductory book will stimulate
I
furtherstudy. My book. HowtoSee YourHealth: BookofOriental
Diagnosis (Japan Publications) and regular articles appearing in
the EastWest Journal are recommended for further reading.
Through regaining a sensitivity to your own body, and better
understanding the health of your loved ones, friends and
associates,you can learn to recognize the signs of physical illness,
— —
and prevent even reverse its development, while restoring
vibrant health.
Michio Kushi
Ackowledgements
The material contained in thisbook wastakenfrom lecturesgiven
by Michio Kushi between 1970 and 1973 at the East West
Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts. The material as finally
developed constituted a seminar entitled ''Diagnosis and
Physiognomy,'' held in April and May 1973 and published in the
Michio Kushi Seminar Report, Volume Ml, Nos. 1-4, edited by Jim
Ledbetter. Some additional material appeared in TheOrderofthe
Universe, Volume IV, Nos. 7 and 10, edited by Thomas Lloyd.
We are highly indebted to Mr. Kushi for his encouragement
and support in producing this book. We would also like to thank
Jim Ledbetter and Thomas Lloyd for their work in the original
transcription of the material. A special word of appreciation must
go to Sherman Goldman for his generosity in reading the
manuscript of the book and making many helpful suggestions.
VI
Introduction
Oriental Diagnosis
The medicine of China, Japan and other countries of the Far East is
among the oldest in the world. This medicine can teach us a great
deal that can be practically applied today. The basic philosophy of
Oriental medicine is the complementary opposite of the kind of
medicine currently practised in the West. Western medicine, with its
emphasis on the treatment of symptoms by drugs and surgery, is
increasingly powerless to cope with the rising tide of degenerative
illness that now threatens to engulf the industrialised world. Clearly
we need to supplement our mainly symptomatic medicine with a
medicine that is preventive in direction and humane and economical
in application. Oriental medicine can contribute greatly to filling
this need.
The standard Oriental writings on the causes of disease stressed
the relationship between an individual's health and his or her diet,
activity, spiritual attitude and total environment. No single aspect
of human life was considered separate from another. The biological,
psychological and spiritual were seen as related aspects of the
totality. The practitioner was an adviser and teacher who could
point out the source of a health problem and give practical
suggestions for changes in life style that could ameliorate the
problem at its source.
In Western medicine, diagnosis identifies a disease by obser-
vation of its symptoms. The experienced Oriental diagnostician,
however, can foresee the development of sickness before the sick
person has specific symptoms such as pain. The principal tool of
—
Oriental diagnosis is physiognomy the art of judging a person
**from the features of the face or the form and lineaments of the
body generally" (Oxford English Dictionary). The basic premise of
Oriental physiognomy is that each individual represents a walking
history of his or her development. The strengths and weaknesses of
our parents, the environment we were brought up in, and the food
we have eaten are all expressed in our present condition. Our
posture, the colour of our skin, the tone of our voice and other traits
vii
are externalisations of the condition of our blood, organs, nervous
system, and skeletal structure, which in turn are the result of our
heredity, diet, environment, and activity.
The secret of diagnostic skill is to recognise the signs of a par-
ticular set of changes before they become serious — to see the signs
that stones are developing in the kidneys, that the heart is becoming
—
expanded, or that a cancer is developing even before these
symptoms bring pain and discomfort. This type of diagnosis depends
completely on the practitioner developing his or her own sensitivity
and understanding fully the principles that underlie the techniques.
Yin and Yang
The principle behind Oriental medicine is the theory of yin and yang.
The starting premise of yin/yang philosophy is that everything in the
universe exists in a continual state of change. This change is
expressed in terms of yin becoming yang or yang becoming yin. Yin
and yang are relative, not absolute. Everything exists in
complementary opposition. Without cold there would be no hot;
without up there would be no down. Without opposition there
would be no movement, no change. As the Too Te Ching puts it,
"From the One came Two, and from the Two all things were born".
If the tendency of any movement is contracting, or moving to-
wards a centre, then the dominant force is yang. Contraction
produces density, activity, heat, weight, speed, etc. If the tendency
is expansion, or moving away from a centre, then the dominant force
is yin. Dispersion produces less density, less activity, lightness, slower
speed, etc. At the extremes, yin and yang change into one another.
Contraction at the limiting point produces a tendency to expand,
and vice versa.
This pulse of life governs all things, from the way the tides ebb
and flow and plants grow by a sequence of integration and differen-
tiation, to the yearly pattern of the planets around the sun. Within
our body we are aware of the expansion and contraction of the
heart, the filling and emptying of the lungs, and the tension and re-
laxation of the muscles.
From the ancient philosophy of yin and yang, George Ohsawa
extracted seven principles and twelve theorems that summarise the
operation of these forces. If the reader wishes to have a real under-
VIII